This is the moment a huge shark was captured on camera swimming off a coast in Devon.

Antony Raine captured the rare footage of the shark as it was swimming off the coast in Babbacombe in Torquay on New Year's Eve.

The experts at The Shark Trust have confirmed that the animal in question is a basking shark.

The basking shark Cetorhinus maximus - the second largest fish in the world (after the Whale Shark). Basking Sharks are filter-feeders, hoovering up zooplankon, as well as fish-eggs and very small fish.

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An expert at The Shark Trust said: "Its rare to see a Basking Shark in British waters at this time of year (although its not unprecedented): during warmer summer months, the generally settled sea-state leads to stratification (layering) of the water column which concentrates zooplankton in the surface layers of water column, meaning Basking Sharks are more visible to us as they feed.

"However during the colder months, winter storms and swell produce greater mixing of the water column, meaning any zooplankton is spread throughout the water column - including in deeper water, where feeding Basking Sharks cannot be observed. Add to this the rough conditions making it more difficult to spot any Basking Sharks that are on the surface - and that far fewer people are out on the water/beaches - and winter Basking Shark sightings are rare."

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Devon's surfing stories

The new study to celebrate Sharkfest on Nat Geo WILD, reveals Britain’s current and future shark population.

It predicts that with the rise of sea temperatures and the impact of climate change we could see non-indigenous species of sharks from the Mediterranean making their way to the British coastline by 2050.

Britain’s top 10 locations for shark spotting

Cornwall

Scilly Isles

Devon

Isle of Wight

Pembrokeshire

Caernarfonshire

Anglesey

Isle of Man

Argyllshire

Inverness-shire

The new Shark Map of Britain estimates that there may be currently over 10m small sharks and 100,000 larger sharks in British waters, as well as some 40 different species, including Thresher, Basking and Nursehound sharks.

Dr Ken Collins, senior research fellow at the University of Southampton and former administrator of the UK Shark Tagging Programme, said: "It’s likely we will be seeing more sharks spread from warmer regions such as the Mediterranean Sea towards our waters in the UK over the next 30 years.

"These include the likes of Blacktips, Sand tigers and Hammerheads, which are currently found swimming off the coasts of Spain and Portugal."

Cornwall has been named as the UK’s current shark capital with at least 20 species found off the coast, followed by the Scilly Isles and Devon.